Premier League rules will be tightened to prevent a repeat of the Carlos Tévez fiasco, Richard Scudamore, the governing body’s chief executive, has revealed.

Additional regulations are expected to be passed at a Premier League board meeting next week that will have a direct impact on transfers, player registration, loan deals and notorious gentleman’s agreements. This follows a season of turmoil that is not over, with a £50 million compensation claim possible from Sheffield United, who were relegated to the Coca-Cola Championship.

Scudamore insists that he is confident of winning any such action, but has moved to tighten up a series of loopholes that would have had a bearing on the transfers of Tévez, Javier Mascherano, Tim Howard, Ben Foster and Steve Kabba, had the ruling existed last season.

He also admits that the events of last season have damaged the reputation of his organisation, with greater transparency in transfer dealings essential. “Changes have to be made for the same reason the Stevens report was necessary,” Scudamore said. “We cannot keep taking this blow to our reputation and the clubs recognise that. I think there is a feeling that we have to act differently to avoid this turmoil.”

Expert View

The Premier League has to grow up and acknowledge that the business of football is changing

Martin Samuel

• More

• Post a comment

BACKGROUND

• It was Tevez's third party so cry if you want to, but a solution would be better

• Rules? Next they’ll be getting away with murder

• Loan system leaves game open to abuse

BACKGROUND

• Just who does own the rights to Tevez?

• Moral ground crumbles under McCabe

• More questions than answers about MSI

• Interfering with Corinthians spirit

Related Links

• ‘There were no easy answers’

• Tevez free to sign for United

The annual meeting held in the summer changed some of the rules regarding third-party ownership and player registration, but a shareholders’ meeting involving all 20 clubs that will take place a week today is expected to pass changes in regulations involving loan transfers, particularly those concerning goalkeepers and players appearing against their former clubs. Scudamore proposed an end to the loan system at the annual meeting, but that idea was rejected.

“The rulebook is constantly changing,” Scudamore said. “It is a more regulated environment now, which is right because with extra money comes extra responsibility. I think the clubs are realising and we are realising that there really isn’t anywhere to hide any more. Things are much more transparent, the rulebook is transparent, the clubs are better organised financially than five years ago, largely because of the new owners, and the media have a relentless pursuit of all areas of the game – it is no longer just about what happens on the pitch. So everyone is under increased scrutiny.

“On the back of the Carlos Tévez situation, we have changed the rules so that all documentation relating to player registration and employment has to be submitted in advance of signing the player. Among West Ham United’s defences was that they believed the third-party agreement did not have anything to do with the player’s registration and that is why it was not shown to the Premier League. Our policy now is: let us be the judge.

“In our rulebook we have also directly linked player registration with rules U18 and U6, which govern third-party interference and dual ownership between clubs. We have said we will look at all registrations with particular reference to those rules.

“Then there will be changes in the rules regarding loans. We can see that under the old rules a club could technically have 19 goalkeepers out on loan, which would not be healthy [Manches-ter United had two goalkeepers, Tim Howard and Ben Foster, loaned to Everton and Watford respectively last season, a guarantee that the club would play four of their 38 matches against second-choice goalkeepers]. It would be like having a plant in the camp, so we are proposing that no more than one goalkeeper can be on loan from one club.

“When any loan deal becomes permanent, the conditions of the loan will apply to the end of the season. That wipes out the need for gentleman’s agreements [Sheffield United sold Steve Kabba to Watford but admitted publicly that a private arrangement prevented him appearing against his former club]. Also, by linking rule U6 so strongly to registration, we are saying that all agreements have to be declared.”

Yet Premier League chairmen rejected the opportunity to have a set tariff of punishments for breaking the rules, which would have guaranteed West Ham being docked points, for failing to declare third-party arrangements over Tévez and Mascherano.

“What was interesting was that, at the summer meeting, the clubs wanted the rulebook as it is,” Scudamore said. “I still believe the best way to deal with these matters is to take very qualified, very intelligent people, give them the facts and let them decide. If it ends up how it ended up over Tévez, that is the risk we take.

“In the next couple of months we will look at the whole issue of third-party ownership. It can never be stopped entirely because it is now part of the game — banks have interests in players just the same — but at the moment these third parties are outside the regulatory tent and that needs addressing.”

Scudamore insists, however, that he is not worried by the possibility of a huge compensation claim from Sheffield United. “The High Court and the Court of Arbitration have looked at it and found no legal reason why Sheffield United should be in the Premier League,” he said. “They could only be entitled to the money if they were entitled to be in the league and nobody has supported that argument.”